Amendments to the Development Assessment Rules – April 2024
This is an overview of the amendments to the Development Assessment Rules (PDF 2.6MB, Changes highlighted) as a consequence of the Housing Availability and Affordability (Planning and Other Legislation Amendment) Bill 2023 (the Bill).
What are the Development Assessment Rules
The Development Assessment Rules (DA Rules) are part of the Queensland planning framework and are a statutory instrument made under the Planning Act 2016. They establish the process for development assessment in Queensland by explaining how development applications must be lodged, assessed and decided. The DA Rules also outline how public notification is required to be undertaken.
Why are amendments to the DA Rules necessary?
The Bill proposes changes to the development assessment system. These measures include:
- introduction of the State facilitated development tool,
- modernising public notification requirements, and
- simplifying notice requirements when the Planning Minister makes or amends the DA Rules.
Amendments to the DA Rules are required to establish assessment, decision and public notification processes for development applications for State facilitated development. These amendments are needed to enable broader state facilitated development provisions to operate.
Amendments are also required to the DA Rules to modernise the requirements for publishing a public notice. These changes will enable provisions of the Bill to operate.
Key features
- A new chapter containing assessment, public notification and decision-making processes for State facilitated development.
- Reduced timeframes for assessing a development application for State facilitated development (for example, the decision period for the chief executive is 30 business days, rather than 35 business days for other applications).
- New public notification requirements for development applications for State facilitated development, with new public notice diagrams which distinguish development applications for State facilitated development from a standard development application, to ensure appropriate community awareness including submitters not having appeal rights.
- Enable local governments to determine on how to publish public notices and removing the mandatory requirement for publication in a hard copy newspaper in relation to state planning instruments.
- Removes duplicate notice requirements when the Planning Minister makes or amends the Minister’s Guidelines and Rules, the designation process rules (which are included under the Minister’s Guidelines and Rules), and the Development Assessment Rules.
- Operational and editorial amendments to facilitate improvements within the development assessment framework.
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Summary of the changes
Section of the DA Rules | Proposed amendment |
|---|---|
Overall formatting – New chapters within document | To facilitate a new development assessment process, the existing development assessment process within the DA Rules is proposed within a new part titled ‘Chapter 1’, and the new development application for State Facilitated Development process in ‘Chapter 2’. Other changes have been made within the DA Rules to enable the different processes to be distinguished and the chief executive to be responsible for assessing and deciding applications for State Facilitated Development. |
Chapter 1 – Development application assessment process, section 8 - If the application is not a properly referred application | New provisions require an applicant to send a notice to the referral agency advising all the actions in the action notice have been complied with to make the application properly made. |
Chapter 1 – Development application assessment process, section 17 - Public notice requirements | Enables the local government to have the applicant issue a public notice in a way the local government considers is likely to bring the notice to the attention of persons likely interested in or affected by the information stated in the notice. This amendment reflects the policy proposed in the Bill for a public notice published by a local government no longer requiring a local government to publish a public notice in a newspaper. |
Chapter 1 – Development application assessment process, section 37 - Publishing a notice about the decision | Amends an incorrect Planning Act reference about the responsible entity publishing a notice about a decision on a change application on the responsible entity’s website from section 83(7) to section 83(8). |
Chapter 2 – Development application for State facilitated development assessment process | Includes a development assessment process for the assessment of applications for State facilitated development as proposed in the Bill. The new process is similar to the existing development assessment process in Chapter 1, but includes the following key differences:
|
Schedule 1 - Substantially different development | Amendments ensure the chief executive’s role for applications for State facilitated development under Chapter 2 is distinguished from the chief executive’s existing role for development applications under Chapter 1. |
Schedule 3 – Public notice requirements | Includes changes to facilitate public notice requirements being set by an assessment manager within a confirmation notice or the chief executive in a notification notice for applications for State facilitated development. For the new development application for State facilitated development process a new Part 2 and Part 4 have been introduced in Schedule 3, the existing Part 2 for change applications is updated to Part 3. The diagrams for the design layout of public notices to be placed on the premises and notice given to adjoining owners and public notice for newspapers for a development application or change application have been updated and new diagrams introduced in the new parts for applications for State facilitated development. |
Schedule 4 – Definitions | Includes new definitions for ‘application for State facilitated development’, ‘application period’, ‘decision-maker’, ‘declaration notice’, ‘notification notice’ and ‘restarting point’ to facilitate the new development application for State facilitated development process and distinguish between a development application for State facilitated development and the existing development application process. Includes a new definition for ‘chief executive’ to facilitate the new development application for State facilitated development process and associated assessment and decision role. Reference to the chief executive has been included in the definitions for ‘action notice’ and ‘party’. Changes to setting the public notification requirements for both development applications and applications for State facilitated development has led to amendments within the definitions of 'confirmation notice’ and ‘public notification period’. Ensuring the different development assessment processes are clearly identified, references to the different chapters or sections have been included in the existing definitions for ‘action notice’, ‘adjoining owner’, ‘confirmation notice’, ‘confirmation period’, ‘current period’, ‘decision period’, ‘further advice’, ‘further period agreed’, ‘missed referral agency’, ‘properly referred application’, ‘referral agency assessment period’, ‘referral confirmation period’ and ‘third party advice’. Amendments to the definition of ‘day’ include reference to the excluded days over December and January as defined in the Planning Act. |
Further information
For further information please contact the Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works via planning4housing@dsdilgp.qld.gov.au.
Last updated: 22 Apr 2024